The Prude
by flaunt
Summary: Sometimes a good whack to the head is all one needs to reveal one's feelings. *Now with more story.*
1. Head Banger

**AN: **I wrote this because I was feeling a little, check that, a lot depressed. I had a serious down in the dumps funk that makes it a little dangerous to get behind the wheel of a car.

So I figured, getting feedback makes me feel happy, so maybe I should just write something that could get me a little feedback, then maybe I'll start to feel better. Well, this is the result of that need for feedback. I hope it works, and you enjoy it.

**Spoilers:** None really. But references are made to certain eps - so if you know JAG and are a Harm-Mac shipper, you'll know it.

* * *

2300 ZULU (1800 Local)  
JAG HEADQUARTERS  
FALLS CHURCH, VIRGINIA

The ice felt nice against his bruised forehead.

Harmon 'Harm' Rabb Jr. looked out the door of his office to stare at the one woman he wanted more than anything in the world, and the one woman he had always been afraid of pursuing.

His eyes drank in her figure, from her modest 2-inch heels, up her ankle, up her sexy calves, up her knees that disappeared under that skirt he was sure the Marines hadn't designed to be sexy.

That didn't mean he didn't find it sexy. Of course, it was his thoughts of the parts under the skirt that made it sexy to him, but still...

His gaze continued scanning upwards, past her skirt, up her blouse, round the curve of her chest, to her slender neck, to her beautiful chin, her luscious lips, her cute nose, her sexy as hell eyes, her expressive brows... he looked at her so intently like he was trying to memorize every contour of her body. Because he was.

He needed to memorize her, because his mind needed more fantasies to keep him from falling apart. His mind needed to imagine being with that woman seated 30 feet away... 30 miserable, might as well be oceans apart, feet away. His heart needed to imagine being with the one woman he had fallen hopelessly in love with. His body needed her too, and that's why the fantasies were necessary as well.

Not that he was bored of all the ones he had already created - especially his newest favorite one - which was ripped straight from real life. Just thinking of it made his breath catch, and while he knew he should stop thinking about it, once the Sarah MacKenzie fantasies started, Harm wasn't actually motivated to stop them.

oxoxoxo

AN HOUR EARLIER  
JAG CONFERENCE ROOM

"Mac."

She looked up from her file and glared at him. "What?" she asked curtly.

"... I... uh, dropped my pen."

Annoyance marred her beautiful face. "And you want me to fetch it for you?"

"Uh, it's closer to your side."

"Forget it, flyboy. I'm not crawling under the desk unless there's a piping hot pepperoni pizza or a million dollars down there."

Harm looked under the table and saw where his pen had rolled to. He was sure if she just looked down, she'd understand why he wanted her to pick it up, and she'd actually pick it up for him.

Because the pen had rolled to right between her feet.

"Okay, Marine. I'll go get it." And he was sure the devil made him do it, because there was absolutely no way in hell the gentleman in him would agree to crawl about between her legs.

She grunted a reply, only half-listening as her eyes returned to the case file in her hand. He slid the chair back noiselessly and ducked under the table.

He knew his heart skipped a beat... or fifteen, the minute he caught sight of her perfect legs. He had it bad, he'd known he had it bad for her for a long time, but recently he'd had it worse. Two cold showers a day worse. Wake up wanting to touch yourself worse. Heck, scared to get out of your chair every time she walked by because you were so aroused worse!

In the dim light he saw she had kicked off her heels and was pushing her toes against the carpet trying to work some feeling back into her feet. Her movements though were pushing the hem of her skirt past her knee, up her thigh...

... Good lord, why hadn't he made a move on her before? Of course, he knew why - she... she was the one. If she turned him down, or worse, dumped him after they were together, he would never recover. And Harm knew that once he had Sarah MacKenzie, he could never ever want another woman.

So now he was reduced to this, leering at her when he thought no one was looking, and now, crossing over into full perverted teen / minor sex offender mode for just a glimpse of what lay up her skirt.

Up her skirt! His heart pounded harder and it sounded loud in his ears. Surely she could hear it, because it was all he could hear.

He inched closer to her legs, his fingers absently seeking the pen because his eyes were busy seeking something else. Yes, she still wasn't crossing her legs... dear lord, why wasn't she crossing her legs? If she did, then he wouldn't be tempted to the dark side, be tempted to leer, be tempted to do more than leer...

Because she was still busy massaging her toes against the carpet. 'Thank you whoever put carpeting in here. Thank you thank you thank you.' Harm gave thanks silently.

His eyes adjusted more to the dim light to make out the shape of her thighs beyond the hem of her skirt. 'Thank you for fixing my night blindness. Thank you thank you thank you.' Harm gave more thanks.

Yes, a little more... a little... Hallelujah! HALLELUJAH!

Harm's eyes bulged. She usually wore pantyhose, not that... stocking... garter... panties...

"Harm?"

His head popped straight up in response to his name. Unfortunately for him, it popped straight up into the solid mahogany that was the underside of the conference table.

The last thing he remembered was stocking... garter... panties... Mac...

oxoxoxo

PRESENT TIME  
HARM'S OFFICE

"Harm!"

He jumped to attention when he realized Mac was shouting his name. She was at his doorway, the look of concern in her eyes at his response... or lack of response to repeated callings of his name evident.

"Yuh?" he said with the eloquence of a drunk frat boy.

"You spaced out there, Harm. Are you okay?" she leaned over to remove the ice pack. The bruise to the side of his forehead didn't seem so bad - aside from the redness of where his head had met wood. Or as she described it in her mind, where hollow wood had met solid wood.

"Are you okay? Do you need more ice?" she asked.

"Yeah..." he said with a smile.

She smiled back and turned to get more ice when she heard.

"And you can get some for my pants too."

She turned back around and saw the unabashed look on Harm's face.

"Excuse me?" Mac asked.

"Yes?" he asked back with a sultry voice. She ignored it for the moment.

"You said you need ice for your... your pants?" Mac asked, and the minute it left her mouth she knew she must have heard wrong... what sounded like pants? Rants, dance, romance...

"I want you to touch me." Harm said in his sexiest voice.

"What?!" Mac positively screamed.

"I want you to love me."

Mac almost fainted. There was no way this was happening. No, this had to be some alternate universe and Harm had switched bodies with an alien.

"Don't you love me, Mac?" Harm asked, his sexy voice cracking in sadness.

"... Harm, I think we need to get you to the doctor."

"Mac, I just don't care any more."

She looked up at him, wondering what the hell was he talking about. "What don't you care about anymore?"

"Hiding my feelings. I want you. I've always wanted you. Heck, I've wanted you for as long as I can remember."

"Uh... sailor, I think that bump to your skull has loosened up your brain a lot more than we thought."

He took her hands in his and stared into her eyes. "Mac, I love you. I want to marry you. I want to have your babies." he stated clearly.

Mac tried not to laugh, in nervousness and at his addled state. Maybe she should have laughed because her heart broke at his confession.

It wasn't real. He... he's just got his head messed up.

"Harm, honey, I think... let's go to the doctor."

"Sarah."

She almost melted at the use of her name. Why did he have to say it like that? Why now, when she knew after his head cleared up, she knew he'd go back to... back to... what was it they had between them? Friends? Enemies? Frenemies? Frenemies without benefits? She wasn't sure, but she knew that she wasn't what he thought she currently was.

"Sarah. I love you Sarah. I want to make your babies."

Again with the babies. Well, not that she wasn't tempted.

"Harm."

"I don't care about JAG. I don't care about the Navy, I'll quit it all if I can just have you. Mac, marry me."

"Harm." she was panicking now. This was too much, too soon.

"I know you think I'm confused, but I've held back for so long, Sarah. I..."

And tears spilled from his eyes, surprising her.

"Harm?" she asked worriedly as he fell back into his chair.

His voice cracked, "You don't love me."

Mac was stunned by the turnaround. Good god, she really needed to get him to a neurosurgeon.

"Harm, we'll talk about it when you've seen the doctor, okay?"

"I fantasize about you."

"Okay." she said, unsure if she wanted to hear about his naughty dreams... oh hell she did. It made her body tingle - in anticipation and excitement with a twist of something forbidden.

"I fantasize about you every night. How, after work we sit down together and talk about our day. "

"That's nice." she said before realizing she said it out loud. But her words made him beam from ear to ear.

He continued, "And then we'd read stories to our little boy... he looks just like you."

Mac felt tears start to form in her eyes. Now he had her going. His tone of pure wonder and joy made her see his fantasy. Made her see their son.

"And better yet, Marine... he thinks like you too." Harm smiled proudly as he kissed her hand. "100% Mac, inside and out."

The love so evident in his voice made her yearn for his fantasy to be true. But it wasn't. A tear slipped out and rolled down her cheek. He reached out and brushed it away - like he always did. She didn't want to end the fantasy, but he needed to get to a doctor.

"Okay flyboy, you can tell me all about our family when we go to Bethesda, alright?" she said, blinking away the rest of her tears.

Harm nodded as he got unsteadily to his feet. "Alright, sweet thing."

oxoxoxo

0100 ZULU (2000 Local)  
BETHESDA MEDICAL CENTER

Mac stood outside the waiting room when Harm's doctor came out of his room. "Colonel MacKenzie?"

"Yes, doctor. How's Harm? Is he okay? Is there any permanent..."

"Whoa, slow down, Colonel." the doctor said with a laugh. "Harm's fine, no permanent damage as far as I can tell, though he does seem to be quite the straight shooter..."

"What do you mean, doctor?" Mac asked concerned.

The matronly doctor motioned slyly to the nurses station behind her, particularly at the only blonde working there. "Well, he did tell the nurse over there that she needed to stop trying to feel him up and start doing her job."

Mac followed the doctor's thumb pointing out the nurse. Mac blanched at the sight. The nurse could have passed off as a young Heather Locklear. "Oh no, doctor, I think it's worse than we thought."

"What do you mean?"

"Harm's not interested in a blonde? I think he's lost his mind."

"To be fair, he... uhm..." the doctor blushed, "...did mention you."

Mac noticed the blush creeping all over the older woman's face. "Uh, me? What about me?"

"Well, he wasn't graphic or anything."

"Oh god."

"But he was quite effusive about how you're the only one who takes care of him. And he was looking forward to seeing more of your costumes..."

"Costumes?" Mac realized that she was still in her uniform. "Uh, I'm in the United States Marine Corps. This is my uniform."

"I know that... it's uh... well, something about a Russian nightgown and a gypsy outfit... and a Navy uniform..."

"Oh."

"And an embassy dress... and a flight suit..."

"I get the idea doctor." Mac blushed bright red. "Uh... but getting back to Harm... he's usually not so..."

"Not so?"

"Over sharing?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well... for as long as I can remember, that man keeps things pretty close to his chest. I mean for the longest time I didn't even know he had a..." Mac cut her rant short.

"Didn't know he had a...?" the doctor asked, interested and not just professionally.

"... This is going to sound crazy."

"My specialty, Colonel MacKenzie." she said, pointing out that she was indeed a head doctor.

"Well... Harm used to have a girlfriend who looked like me. Or who I look like would be more accurate."

"And?"

"And well, we worked together side by side for over a year before I found out about her. Heck, he didn't even tell me until I saw a picture of her myself."

"So he's not so open with his feelings."

"Sometimes I wonder if he even had any feelings."

The doctor nodded and made notes. "Okay, I'm going to have to reevaluate the answers he gave me then." she moved to go back to Harm's room but hesitated. She turned to Mac. "Colonel, seeing as you know so much about him, would you mind following me to verify the answers I get?"

"Oh. Yes, of course." Mac quickly followed after her.

oxoxoxo

HARM'S ROOM  
BETHESDA MEDICAL CENTER

Harm was happy. Happy as a clam. Happy as a clam with gold wings.

He was flying, not for reals, and not because of painkillers either - well, maybe slightly because of those. He was flying mostly because he had told Sarah MacKenzie he loved her, wanted to marry her, wanted to make her some babies.

As far as he was concerned, he wanted to start on those babies ASAP. Yeah, baby making. Now he understood why Harriet was so excited about babies. And making babies with Mac had to be at least 12 million times better than making babies with Bud. 'Eww... Bud.'

'No, concentrate on Mac. Baby. Hmm... should he call her baby?'

When the doctor entered with Mac, he tried it out. "Hey, baby."

'Hmm, no, it didn't suit her. Maybe babe? Babe... Yeah, she was a babe.'

"Commander Rabb, I'm going to ask you a series of questions. Do you think you'll be up to answering them?" the doctor asked.

"Sure thing, doc." Harm answered and then peeked around the doctor to look at Mac. "Hi, babe." he waved at her. 'Yeah, babe fit her. because she was one. A major one. Babe... my baby-making babe.' he thought happily with a wide grin.

Mac blushed at his open... well, creepiness that's what it was. Once upon a time she would have loved if he showed even a fraction of his current feelings for her, but now that that bottle had been uncorked... or whatever happened when he hit his head, it was beginning to scare her.

The man in that bed was not her flyboy. And as much as she hated to admit it, she actually missed that arrogant, smug, cocky, know-it-all, sexy sex god.

The doctor started with the basics, which Harm aced. He remembered everything - name, social security number, service number, heck, he even remembered the name of the first girl he kissed - not something the doctor had asked about nor Mac could confirm, but he seemed quite pleased with the fact that he remembered Suzy Chambers.

"Do you remember who she is?" the doctor asked Harm pointing to Mac.

"Lieutenant Colonel Sarah MacKenzie. But she wants me to call her Mac."

At Sarah's confirming nod, the doctor was going to ask another question, but Harm decided to volunteer more info.

"She's also the most beautiful woman in the world, my colleague, my best friend, the girl I'm crazy about, the mother to my children and... if I'm lucky the woman I'm gonna marry."

"Interesting order." the doctor chuckled as she glanced at the Marine Colonel. At Mac's questioning look, the doctor answered, "Kids, then marriage."

"Uh... yeah." Mac felt her already ever present blush deepen.

"We have a deal." Harm proclaimed proudly.

"A deal?"

"Harm!" Mac said harshly, hoping to shush him.

"Mac, I promised you I'll give you a baby. I'll give you two... twel..." he counted off his fingers and held them all out, "I'll give you that many babies!"

"Doc, what drugs is he on?" Mac asked, worried that the Harmon Rabb Jr. she knew and loved was now this... man-boy-child-thing.

"Just a painkiller, nothing too strong." she said before checking Harm's eyes and the CT scan in his chart once more.

"And he's... become this?" Mac asked incredulously.

"That's what I'm worried about too, Colonel." the doctor said, silencing Mac into deeper concern. After several long minutes of quiet which Harm spent making eyes at her, Mac finally broke, "What's wrong with him, doc?"

"Hmm... maybe it's best if we talked outside."

Fear gripped Mac instantly. She looked worriedly at Harm who stared at her with those warm eyes. Her resolve broke a little and she went over to him, brushed the stray locks away and planted a light kiss on his forehead.

"Mac..."

"Yes Harm?"

"You're so beautiful."

"So are you." she sighed, because he was.

He stroked her cheek as she left. She tried not to crumble at that point. She tried not to think about the horrible news the doctor was about to give her.

oxoxoxo

OUTSIDE HARM'S ROOM

"How bad is it doctor?" Mac asked, trying to keep the quiver out of her voice.

"Depends."

That made Mac mad. She had prepared herself for the worse and the doctor was acting so dismissive? "Depends on what?" she asked, her quiver now replaced with murder.

"How much of his old personality do you miss?"

"Doc, are you saying that this personality is permanent?"

"No, mercifully no. I think right now it's just an exaggeration based on the swelling to his frontal lobe. I think it's just making him rather impulsive. Was he an impulsive person before?"

Mac looked away shyly. "He shot a machine gun in court once."

The doctor's eyes widened in shock. "... Okay. I guess that might explain why he's ultra impulsive at the moment. Now seeing that he's a former fighter pilot, I'm guessing he's a bit of a risk taker as well?"

Mac thought back to all the reckless stupid stuff that Harm did in their years working together. "Yeah, he is."

"Okay... then maybe it's not so bad then."

"What do you mean?" Mac asked.

The doctor explained, "I already knew he had a frontal lobe injury based on his 'over share' as you say. But it was quite... a larger reaction than normal, and all I saw in his CTs were minimal swelling. So I was concerned that he had other, hidden conditions affecting him."

"Conditions?"

"Lesions, tumors... but I can see that since he's already an uninhibited sort to begin with, I can stop worrying."

"Well..." Mac started.

"Well?" the doctor echoed in question form.

"Harm's a bit of a prude."

"How so?"

Mac didn't want to relive how she came about that knowledge so she shared the cliff notes version. Unfortunately, the cliff notes became the full recreation of the scene by the time Mac was done.

The doctor looked at Mac, "So you're basing on the fact that he didn't want to see you topless made him a prude?"

"Well, the alternative did cross my mind."

"Which was?"

"He didn't find me attractive." Mac said sadly.

"You know he finds you attractive."

"Or he's gay."

"Okay, yeah I can see how you'd think that. What straight man doesn't want to see a woman naked?"

"A prude." Mac giggled.

"Actually, I wouldn't put it down to he's a prude, Colonel."

"Oh god, he's gay?"

"No, no." the doctor waved the idea away, laughing, "What I meant was... he's probably quite... uhm... carnal?"

"What?" Mac couldn't believe she was discussing Harm's sexual appetite with his brain doctor in the middle of a hospital hall. Granted it was a curiously empty hospital hall, but still.

"Have you considered that Harm actually was scared of letting go... because he couldn't control himself with you."

"What do you mean?"

"What if he thought... he's too freaky for you?"

Mac blushed so hard that she felt she must be glowing like neon. "Freaky? Harm?"

"Consider the following patterns of behavior. The traits that served him well as a fighter pilot haven't really helped prepare him for life as a person in a non-crisis reality. He's a risk taker and a hero type who makes lightning quick decisions at the cost of personal consequences."

"Yes?" Mac said, but not with any certainty.

"I mean, I bet he doesn't even lock his bedroom door when he sleeps."

Realization dawned on Mac. "Oh god. He doesn't even have a bedroom door."

"Ah!" the doctor was surprised into laughter. "Classic."

"Oh, god. You mean... all this time, Harm thought... I... thought... Oh my god."

"So Colonel, perhaps why Harm held back before wasn't because he's a prude. It probably took everything he had not to throw you on the deck of the ferry and... uh, make good on his baby promise right there and then."

"... he could have told me how he felt."

"He's telling you now."

Mac stared at the doctor in surprise. "But that's the injury talking."

"The injury may do a lot of things, but it doesn't make him a liar. In fact, the opposite might be true - he's probably unable to lie right now, because he doesn't really care about the consequences. If you shoot him down now, he'd probably feel less heartbroken than if you did it without the injury."

"Shoot him down?"

"Yes. I mean, it's obvious he... well, at least you know he wants to get in bed with you. But you haven't told him a single thing about your feelings. I can't assume you actually want to be with him, can I?"

"I told you about Australia."

"And this is Washington."

"Location doesn't change who we are." Mac said and electricity ran through her spine at the familiar words.

"No, but time does. And feelings change too."

"... I love him."

"Then tell him. Or better yet, kiss him. God knows maybe it'll shut him up instead of hearing him going on and on about how much he loves you."

"... Does he really feel that way, doc?"

"Maybe you should ask him that yourself."

oxoxoxo

0914 ZULU  
HARM'S ROOM  
BETHESDA MEDICAL CENTER

Harm slept. The painkillers made him sleepy. However when the painkillers faded, his headache didn't return. He was still woozy though.

He found her sleeping in the chair. 'God she's beautiful.' was his thought, and he knew that God was definitely involved in making her. 'Thank you thank you thank you.'

He grunted as he tried to get into a more comfortable position. It must have woken her because the next thing he heard was, "Harm, are you okay?"

"Hmm? Yeah." he said, before he realized that she was still in her uniform and it was dark out. Really dark out. "What time is it?"

"0414."

"Mac, you don't have to be here. God, I'm so sorry... you..."

She was already at his bed side, stroking his forehead. And then she leaned down and kissed him. Granted it was on the forehead, but it was still a kiss.

"Feeling better flyboy?" she purred. Or at least he wanted to believe that was what she did.

"Yeah. Wow... who would have thought a simple whack to the head would do such a number on me huh?" he said quietly.

"Maybe your head isn't as hard as we all originally thought." she chuckled as she perched herself on the bed.

"Yeah" he chuckled but it was low key. He suddenly felt sad.

He could see the moon glowing outside his window and it backlit Mac so beautifully. She looked like an angel - a sexy, lovely, gorgeous angel.

He could never be worthy of her. He'd hurt her too much before. He'll hurt her again in the future. In fact, he was no good for her. Or more accurately, he was not good enough for her.

"What do you see when you look at me that way?" she asked, her voice sounding almost fragile in its quietness.

"... You." he said plainly, hiding everything he wanted to say.

"Me?"

"You." he repeated.

"And what is me?"

"... my... my..." he struggled with the answer.

"Do you love me?" she asked, surprising him. He could have lied, but one look into her eyes, her beautiful, wild, passionate eyes and his resolve crumbled. "Yes."

"Do you want me?"

"Yes."

"Do you want to marry me?"

"Yes."

"Do you want to make lots and lots of babies with me?"

"Oh god, yes."

And her face lit up. He'd never seen her as happy as she was right now. She leaned in closer until their lips were barely an inch apart.

"Do you want to kiss me?"

"Yes."

"Then what are you waiting for, sailor?"

Nothing. And just as quickly there was nothing between their lips either.

oxoxoxo

MONDAY  
1230 ZULU (0730 Local)  
MAC'S APARTMENT  
GEORGETOWN, WASHINGTON, D.C.

"God Harm, we're going to be late." Mac rushed to the door, trying to button up the blouse of her uniform.

"It's not my fault Marine." Harm came rushing out of her bedroom, actually already dressed for work.

"Of course it's your fault. I already warned you we didn't have time to shower together."

"You weren't complaining when I scrubbed your back."

"In my defense, counselor, for a back scrub, you sure got a whole lot of my front too!"

"And sides... and legs..." he said as he wrapped his arms around her waist and started kissing her neck again.

"Harm!" she said loudly, but her head still tilted to the side to allow him access to her neck.

"You know, I rather liked that position you showed me last night."

"Good god, Harm. You just got out of the hospital. I'm not sure you have medical clearance to resume normal activities yet."

"Hey, me lying on my back as you did all the work counts as rest."

"Hmm... and earlier this morning?"

"I was on my knees the entire time."

Mac's knees almost buckled at the memory. The man was a lawyer, a damn good one, so his career depended on his mouth. But she discovered that his mouth was also multi-talented, because it could do so much more than just talk...

"Harm, we still need to be professional at work."

"We're not at work."

"Yes, but we're in uniform." she sighed as his mouth worked her earlobe.

"I can get out of mine in 30 seconds."

She shut her eyes to block out the temptation. She tried one last gambit.

"You know Harm... I have a fantasy about us... regarding the conference room."

"Oh, care to share, Colonel?"

"Well... it starts with me crawling underneath the table to pick up my pen..."

* * *

**Next Chapter: **Spell Checker**  
**

For those who thought I could actually write more of this, I realized... I could try. So I did.


	2. Spell Checker

**AN: **Thank you so much for your feedback. For everyone who asked about my depression, thank you, I'm feeling better, which will probably mean that this chapter is automatically gonna suck :D But I hope you still enjoy it anyway.

* * *

1400 ZULU (0900 Local)  
JAG HEADQUARTERS  
FALLS CHURCH, VIRGINIA

She couldn't believe her eyes.

Sarah 'Mac' MacKenzie glared at the file in her hands wondering if what she read was an honest mistake or a Freudian slip of epic proportions on the part of one Harmon 'Harm' Rabb Jr.

She felt her cheeks get warm reading his typo, and felt it start to creep down her neck.

They had just spent the past several days wrapping up an investigation onboard the USS Coral Sea. It was their first case together since... well, since they got together.

Still it didn't excuse his mistake. Grabbing the file, she stormed off to his office to give him a piece of her mind... because it was so obvious that he had already lost his.

When she entered his office, he looked up at her and gave her his sexy flyboy grin and his gorgeous bedroom eyes. Her anger faded away, replaced instantly by something more heated, and more primal.

Her eyes undressed him, and after years of waiting, yearning and hoping, she didn't have to resort to just pure imagination. She knew what he looked like naked, what he felt like naked... how he felt her naked...

"Hey, beautiful." he said as he leaned back in his chair, letting her eyes roam all over him. That brought her back to the present and her displeasure returned once more.

"Commander Rabb, would you care to explain the mistake in this file?" she said in her best impersonation of a two-star Admiral.

He noticed her annoyed tone and wisely knew that as much as he was enjoying undressing her with his eyes, if he wanted to do so for real tonight, he had better treat her complaint seriously. He lifted the file in question and opened it to the first page. He scanned the sheet before looking up at her.

"I'm sorry, Colonel. I don't..."

"Check out the venue of our investigation."

His eyes went to the place in the file... and gulped. "Uh, Mac... It was an honest mistake."

"Honestly Harm, the USS Oral Sea?"

"Well... it was the Oral Sea for at least one of us..."

Mac blushed furiously at his words. She sputtered but no words came past her lips. Harm's grin widened as he got to his feet, crossed over to the door and closed it. Then he closed the blinds as well.

The sound of the blinds closing snapped Mac out of her near catatonic state. She whirled round and found herself mere inches from Harm, so close that she could feel the warmth of his body and that threatened to trigger another spate of pleasurable memories.

"Harm." her voice croaked and she had to swallow hard to clear it. "Harm." she tried again and this time it took.

"Sarah." he replied and she felt her insides turn to mush. She swore she was going to kill him. With sex. In this very office. Right now.

But she needed to be the mature one, the in control one. The... the prude!

The doctor at Bethesda was right. Harm was most definitely... most definitely... inventive. And attentive. And...

"Do you remember, Sarah? Do you remember the Oral Sea?" he said, his breath warm against her cheek, against her ear, his lips so close to touching her earlobes...

oxoxoxo

TWO DAYS AGO  
USS CORAL SEA

"Harm, someone's gonna catch us..." she whispered breathlessly, her hands in his hair, trying to push him away as hard as she was trying to pull him closer. She was standing, pinned against the desk in her quarters.

He looked up at her in the dark, his eyes seemed to sparkle in the pale light cast by his laptop screen beside her. She saw his smile, a million megawatts that she had once said 'was a nice smile and it usually got him what he wanted.'

Well she was right, because it was getting him what he wanted now. Her protests died on her lips as his lips turned her to silly putty. She felt the zipper of her pants slide down, and felt him pull the fabric down as well, exposing her thighs. His hands ran all over the exposed skin sending thrills and chills up and down her spine.

She felt his mouth return to her stomach, felt the string of kisses that warmed her from the inside out. And then, she felt his kisses move lower, to the spot just below her belly button. And a little lower... and a little lower still...

"Harm..." she breathed harshly, mindful that any noise might alert everyone else on the ship to their nocturnal activity.

"Shh Marine." he whispered.

"What are you doing?" she sighed back.

"Can't you see?"

She could. Her hand grabbed hold of his hair, tightening as she threw her head back. Because she felt what he was doing even more.

"Harm..."

His mouth was too busy to respond.

"Harm." she gasped as her knees failed her, but his arms and hands and shoulders kept her propped up. She saw heaven...

"Harm!"

oxoxoxo

PRESENT DAY  
HARM'S OFFICE

"Harm!" she shouted and Harm jumped back in surprise, just as someone opened the door. The edge of the door smashed into the back of his head and he fell over onto her, making her fall onto his table.

"What the..." Mac sputtered before she realized that the entire bullpen was staring at her. Or at Harm because he had her pinned to his table, his body all over hers, with his face buried right in her chest. Everyone stared at them.

She could see every jaw, and quite a few coffee mugs, had dropped from the shock of the sight. The seconds ticked by as no one said a word.

Mac finally regained her composure and spoke. "It's... it's not what... Harm... get up. Harm!"

Panic finally came rushing to the fore as she worried that Harm might have another head injury. Dear god, what if he reverted to his previous head-up-his-six form because of it. What if he forgot about her? About them? She lifted his head from her chest gingerly.

He blinked at her. "Hey... what happened?"

"You suddenly blacked out." Mac said, more for the benefit of the bullpen than for Harm.

"Oh, sorry ma'am, sir!" Harriet came rushing over with her apologies coming thick and fast. There was no hiding the deep crimson blush all over her face though. She had seen the scene. "I should have... been... I mean... we didn't mean to interrupt... and... um..."

Yup, she definitely saw the scene.

"You didn't interrupt anything, Harriet." Mac said, though her blush probably rivaled the blonde's. "Harm suddenly pitched forward and he caught me by surprise."

"I didn't suddenly pitch forward. Someone opened the door and hit me in the back of the head." Harm said as he rubbed the welt on his skull. He and Mac looked down at the same time, and saw the culprit.

"Hi Uncle Harm, Aunty Mac. Whatcha doing?"

oxoxoxo

Mac spent the rest of the day hiding out in her office, too embarrassed to even look up from the files on her desk. She couldn't look up because every time she did, she saw the knowing looks from everyone else in the office and that made her blush even more.

Now, everyone was possibly just having fun at the embarrassing moment, but that didn't change the fact that... she and Harm were together. Just no one else knew it, and she didn't want anyone else to know it just yet. Fortunately doctor-client privilege probably kept the doctor that treated Harm at Bethesda from revealing it too and if she didn't then she had to deal with two pissed off Naval attorneys.

Harm had court, so he was going to be gone for the rest of the day, and for that Mac was glad. She doubted she could have handled seeing him today and not give the game away. All eyes were on them right now and she could bet that the office pool betting on them winding up in bed together soon had suddenly reactivated.

Part of her was tempted to place her own wager... would tonight be too soon?

Oh, she loved the physical aspects of their relationship, but she swore she melted every time he looked at her. Or spoke to her. Or touched her. God the man could touch...

She shook that thought away, she was not going to get herself worked up here at work, not without a way to relieve it. Not that she wasn't tempted. She wondered how hard she'd have to work to become JAG and then she could summon Harm to her office and ravish him...

She shook that thought away too. Good Lord, he's turned her into a sex fiend. Where were all the soft feelings of love and romance and courtship? The flowers and dates and long strolls?

A knock at her door startled her and made her look up. At good ol' Harriet, whose blush still hadn't completely faded from earlier in the day. The blonde Lieutenant entered with her son - A.J. Roberts.

"Ma'am? Are you busy?"

"No, not really." Mac turned to the little boy who looked chagrined. "Hey, little man. How are you?"

"I'm sorry Aunty Mac, for earlier. Mommy told me to never open doors again without knocking first."

Mac's heart softened, how could she even begin to get mad at her godson? "Mommy's right. But apology accepted. Now give me a hug." she held out her hands and the little boy ran the few steps into her arms. She lifted him up, he was getting bigger now, so it wasn't as easy as it used to be.

"Can you tell Uncle Harm sorry too?" A.J. said with big goo goo eyes.

"Sure... I don't know when he'll get back from court..."

"Actually ma'am, I have another favor to ask." Harriet interrupted.

"Yes, Harriet?"

"Could you watch A.J. until I get back? I shouldn't be gone for more than a couple of hours. The Admiral has me running a few errands for him and well..."

"Consider it done Harriet." Mac said, propping little A.J. up on her hip. "It'll give me time to bond with my favoritest guy in the whole wide world."

A.J. laughed at her made-up word. Mac played it up. "You know I love you. I love you the most..."

He giggled at her statement. "I'm not Uncle Harm, silly."

That made Mac freeze and blush. She turned to stare at Harriet who was in complete shock herself.

Mac decided to take charge of the situation. "What was that, A.J?"

"Mommy says you love..."

"On second thoughts ma'am..." Harriet rushed to grab A.J. before he single-handedly got her shipped to the Aleutians.

Mac played keep away for a sec, "No, Harriet. This sounds interesting." Mac teased. Normally she wouldn't have, but goddamnit, she had a right to know what Harriet was saying behind her back. And she had a willing witness right now, so all was fair. "Go on A.J. what did mommy say?"

"Mommy says you love Uncle Harm." and he said it as if mimicking a grown up, by whispering theatrically, "A lot."

"Oh do I?" Mac gave Harriet a smile, and Harriet looked like she was going to have a stroke.

"Don't you have to be somewhere, Harriet?"

"Yes ma'am... and I think I should take A.J..."

"Nonsense, I'll gladly watch him for you." Mac smiled. But at seeing Harriet's fear, Mac decided to be kind. "Harriet, don't worry about it. Harm... well, I think Harm knows I love him."

Harriet's eyes bulged and she was about to burst into tears of happiness, when Mac made her suffer. "As a friend."

"Oh." she saw Harriet's excitement die. It wasn't immediate but like a gradual shutting off of lights - slowly but undeniably the brightness faded. "Well, I should be going ma'am." Harriet sighed downheartedly as she left the office.

Mac almost felt sorry for teasing Harriet that way. Almost. One of these days they - she and Harm - will tell the Roberts about their new statuses. But not today. Not after what the entire bullpen saw today.

Mac turned to little A.J. and bounced him on her hip. "So A.J. you little troublemaker... you almost got me into trouble, didn't you?"

"I'm sorry."

"Not as sorry as another sailor is gonna be." Mac said with a smile before distracting A.J. with one of the toys she kept for him in her bottom desk drawer.

oxoxoxo

1800 ZULU (1300 Local)  
JAG COURTYARD  
FALLS CHURCH, VIRGINIA

Bud Roberts looked at his superior officer, mentor, opposing counsel and hero worriedly. Now in all the aforementioned labels, he wasn't concerned - Cmdr. Harmon Rabb Jr. had been brilliant in court and the officer was the very best of what the Navy had to offer.

He looked worriedly at the man that was Harmon Rabb Jr. now, sitting in the courtyard with his salad and staring off into space.

"Sir?" Bud ventured, seeing if it would break through Harm's current daze. It did.

Harm returned to the present, and smiled at Bud. "Yes, Bud?"

"Are you alright, sir?"

"Yes, Bud. Why wouldn't I be?"

"Well sir, I heard what A.J. did, sir. I'm so sorry."

"Oh," Harm rubbed the back of his head. "Don't worry about it. Guess I needed a good smack to the head to make me realize how lucky I am." Harm smiled, knowing that this latest bump wasn't the one he meant.

"How lucky you are, sir?"

"Yeah." And he was pretty lucky. And getting lucky with Mac. How lucky was that?

"Do you think Colonel MacKenzie is going to be mad at A.J?" Bud asked worriedly.

Mac. Beautiful Mac. Wonderful Mac. Feisty Mac. Loving Mac.

Harm's smile grew as he thought of his partner, "Mac could never be mad at A.J. She can be stern, but she won't lose her temper at him. That's why she'll be a great mom one day..."

Mommy Mac. And he knew he had fallen in love with her all over again. His mind went back to the day A.J. was born. To the promise made. To the promise he planned to fulfill ASAP...

"I'm sure she will be, sir. If that's what she wants."

"Huh? What?" Harm asked, having lost track of their conversation.

"Colonel MacKenzie. I'm sure she'll be a great mom, if that's what she wants." Bud repeated.

Harm stared at Bud. "What do you mean, if that's what she wants? Of course thats... Did she say she didn't want kids?"

"No sir. But... well, I learned to never try and guess what goes on in a woman's head sir. Harriet says, it's a woman's prerogative, duty and right to change her mind until she finds what's right. So what she wants today doesn't necessarily mean that's what she wants tomorrow."

"Do you think Mac's changed her mind?" Harm asked worriedly. His dream of giving her babies... their babies... their family was slipping away.

"About what sir?"

"About having..." Harm almost slipped there. "About what she wants in life." he concluded instead.

"Well sir, you have to ask her to be certain. I'm sure she'll tell you what she wants."

"Why would she tell me that, Bud? We're just friends." Harm jumped to the classic response to cover up their relationship. It was the truth, they were friends, though they were also so much more. But Harm wasn't about to admit that to Bud right now.

"Exactly sir. Because you're friends. I'd think if her friend asked she'd tell him."

"Sounds like you've given it a lot of thought, Bud."

"Me? No sir. Just..."

"Just?"

"Well, Colonel MacKenzie taught me so much in how to deal with women, sir. I know she's the reason why I even have Harriet in the first place. I just wish I could return the favor."

"Return the favor?"

"... Help her find Mr. Right so to speak." Bud muttered shyly.

Harm smiled, "So what kind of guy would you pick for Mac?" he teased.

"Oh, I don't know sir."

"Permission to speak freely, Bud."

"... Well sir, someone who can be funny and won't take himself too seriously, is fun and romantic and isn't afraid to let her know how she makes him feel, sir."

"Wow. You have given this a lot of thought."

"No sir. I guess it's just a combination of stuff that she's told me over the years. And what Harriet wants from me too. I guess it's all the stuff women would like."

"And is there a particular guy you'd think would fit Mac?"

"Well sir... I think Gunny Galindez..."

"Gunny Galindez?!" Harm shot to his feet.

Everyone in the courtyard stared at Harm glowering at Bud. Poor Bud looked like he was about to have a heart attack. Harm calmed down, reminding himself it was just a hypothetical scenario. He sat down and picked at his salad once more, as if his outburst just hadn't happened. "Gunny is an enlisted man. He wouldn't be able to pursue a relationship with the Colonel."

Bud was wary of Harm so he picked his next answer carefully. "True, sir. I guess I didn't think that far. Who do you think is right for the Colonel, sir?"

"... I haven't thought much of that subject, Bud."

"Well sir, as her best friend, what do you want for her?"

"I want... I want her to be happy."

"And what would make her happy, sir?"

And Harm realized, he had no idea.

oxoxoxo

0100 ZULU (2000 Local)  
HARM'S APARTMENT  
NORTH OF UNION STATION

Mac rode the old elevator up to his apartment. She was worried, Harm had sounded... strange on the phone making all her doubts return. 'Did the bump to his head change his feelings back? Was he calling to say they were over?'

She was hesitant to come over, but neither could she stay away. If he ended it... well, she... she wasn't sure what she'd do. Part of her was just tempted to hit him over the head again to change his feelings back. Other parts of her were tempted to have her way with him so he'd decide they were good together.

Then there was the part that wanted to hide. Run. Not hurt. Not cry.

The elevator stopped and she found his door ajar and the interior dark. She panicked, did a certain crazed former DoD agent somehow get into their lives again? She pushed open the door with her foot, fists ready for battle, ready to fight to save her man.

"Harm?" she called out to the darkness.

And found him standing in the middle of his living room with candles all around. When he saw her he walked over, bent down and kissed her lightly on the lips. It lingered but it didn't deepen. And it was already enough to leave her senseless.

"Harm," she sighed again as he grabbed her hand, shut the door, locked it and led her to the couch. Setting her down in the center of the ring of candlelight he kept hold of her hand and sat on the floor in front of her. He looked up at her.

"Mac, what makes you happy?" he asked.

Mac smiled, "You, flyboy."

"No, Mac. I mean, really what would make you happy?" he asked again, this time almost plaintively.

Her demeanor turned serious and she locked onto his eyes, "Why the sudden twenty questions, Harm?"

"Because... because I realized I don't know how to make you happy."

And that touched her, that he cared enough to want to know, and that he didn't just assume. Her tone softened, "I guess... right now, what makes me happy is being with you."

"That's all?"

"Yes."

"If it ever changes, you'll tell me?"

"Harm, if it ever changes, you'll be the first to know."

He kissed her, again just imparting comfort without asking for more, almost as if he was kissing something precious. It made her feel precious. After a while he pulled back and stared into her eyes, his serious face returned.

"Do you still want children?"

"Of course, Harm. That will never change."

"Do you still... want them with me?" he asked, his voice a little shaky, fearing her answer.

"Are you pregnant, Harm?"

"Mac..." his tone made it known he was being serious.

"Yes flyboy..." but she paused, "But I hope you don't expect me to right now..."

He laughed, released from his anxiety. "No, Mac. There are quite a few things we have to do first before we get there."

"And what are these few things?" she asked teasingly.

"Whatever you want them to be. Dates, moving in together, marriage."

"That sounds awfully close to a proposal, Harm."

"I've already told you what I want, Mac. It's your turn to tell me what you want."

She caressed his face and pondered his words. She wanted so many things, but it almost seemed... greedy to ask for all of them. And what if she wanted something else tomorrow?

"Is it okay if I tell you later?" she finally answered.

He nodded. That was good enough for him. "I'll wait as long as you'd like."

Mac smiled and looked around, changing the subject, "What's with the candlelight? Didn't pay your bill or something?"

"Or something. I... it's stupid I guess." he bit back his explanation.

"Well, I wanna hear why it's stupid. What is it?"

"You know how like birthday candles, you wish for something and you blow them all out?"

"Yes?"

"Here... I thought this could be like a thanksgiving candle thing. For everything we're grateful for, we blow out one candle."

"Harm there's something like 40 candles here." she said surprised.

"I have a lot to be thankful for Sarah."

"Really? Care to share?" she asked coyly. Harm smiled and he demonstrated what he meant.

"I'm thankful for the day I met you." and he blew out one candle.

Understanding, she mimicked him. "I'm thankful for the day I met you too." she blew out a candle close by.

"I'm thankful for the fact you came back to JAG." he blew out another candle.

"I'm thankful for the exact same thing." she blew out another.

"I'm thankful that I got the chance to say I love you Sarah MacKenzie." he blew out another candle.

Tears rolled down her cheek and she leaned down to kiss him. It was a reprise of the one he had given her at the door - light, loving, lingering without being lustful. Just the comfort of two souls finding each other.

After the kiss ended, she asked, "Can we blow out all the candles now?"

"We haven't finished..."

"No, but I promise to give you something to be thankful for for each and every one we blow out now."

"There's thirty one more candles, Mac."

"Then I guess it's going to be a long night, sailor." she said suggestively and leaned in to kiss him again.

oxoxoxo

Harm stood under the shower, taking stock of all that had happened in the past four hours. It was a little after ten when they both realized they hadn't eaten dinner. One quick delivery later and that was solved.

Of course, they almost didn't complete dinner. Mac had found that her favorite chair in his apartment was his lap, and that her favorite attire didn't come with pants. And her favorite attire on him didn't come with pants either.

The island of his kitchen had seen some scandalous things today. As did his couch.

About 30 minutes ago, Mac decided that ice cream was an appropriate bedtime snack. Harm, too tired to argue let her indulge. He didn't even complain when she admitted she liked eating it straight out of the tub.

And he was rendered speechless when she decided that eating it off his naked body was even better. She went on to prove her point, and though he hadn't had a lick of ice cream, he had to admit the feel of her cold tongue over his burning body made him a believer.

So here he was at just past midnight, in the shower, washing off the sticky remains of Mac's snack. Any further thoughts disappeared the minute he felt her arms wrap around him.

"Mac." he groaned her name more than said it.

The feeling of her bare front pressed right against his bare back was giving him serious breathing difficulties. That her hands roamed only made it worse. He closed his eyes, trying to regain control.

She peered at him, "Don't like how I wash your back sailor?"

"I like it a lot..."

"Then what's the problem?"

"Your hands aren't washing my back right now, Marine." he said with a ragged breath.

"No?" she asked coyly.

"No."

She turned him around, "Where are my hands, Harm?"

"You know where they are."

She looked down and gasped in mock surprise. "Oh, there they are."

"Mac..."

"You know, I never really thanked you for the... Oral Sea."

He gulped when he felt her body slide down his. And gasped when she started thanking him right there and then.

oxoxoxo

1400 ZULU (0900 Local)  
JAG HEADQUARTERS  
FALLS CHURCH, VIRGINIA

Harm and Mac were standing in front of their CO in his office. He was looking over their file reports but that was just an excuse. He actually wanted to know more about this rumor of two JAG officers going at it right in one of their offices.

A.J. Chegwidden looked at his two senior attorneys.

"It has come to my attention that there was an incident in Commander Rabb's office yesterday. Care to comment?"

They took turns explaining what happened, from the door to the fall, a sequence of events which A.J. found very amusing. When they concluded, he sat there quiet for a moment.

"So... you're basically blaming my namesake for causing this rampant rumor?" A.J. asked.

"Not blaming sir. Explaining." Mac said.

"It likely won't happen again sir." Harm reassured the Admiral, who wasn't reassured at all.

"_Likely _won't happen again? Not definitely?" A.J. raised an eyebrow at that which caused both senior attorneys to redden.

"Well sir, if circumstances beyond my control were to happen again sir..." Harm started explaining.

"You plan to pin the Colonel to your desk once more?" A.J. asked surprised.

"N... no sir." Harm stammered.

Mac tried to help Harm out, "I think what the Commander is trying to say, sir..."

"I'm aware of what he's trying to say, Colonel. The thing is, is he?"

"Sir, I promise not to close my door again sir." Harm said, standing at complete attention even though there was no need to.

"That might be a start. Very well Commander. Oh, and while I'm not in the habit of commending your reports, excellent work on the Coral Sea case."

"Thank you sir." Harm said, glancing proudly at Mac. He had fixed the typo.

"That's all Commander." A.J. dismissed Harm.

Once Mac was alone in the office with A.J. he removed his glasses and leaned back in his chair. He looked at her and waved her into one of the seats in front of him and she complied. "Colonel... Mac. Are you sure you're alright with... yesterday's incident?"

"Sir..." she paused trying to find the right words, "...as embarrassing as yesterday's incident was, it was an honest mistake. It could have happened to anybody."

"But are you alright that it happened between you and the Commander?"

"Sir, why wouldn't it be alright if it happened between me and the Commander?"

"You've worked together for a long time. I wouldn't be surprised if certain... emotions came to light."

Mac stiffened at his inference but kept her composure by looking at the spot right above the Admiral's ear instead of right at her CO. "And what emotions would that be sir?" she said in her steadiest voice.

"I've read your report, Colonel. The case aboard the Patrick Henry?" A.J. said.

"Yes sir?" Mac asked confused, unsure why the change in subject.

"Care to look at it?" he handed the file to Mac. She took it and scanned the first page.

"Yes sir? Is there anything wrong?"

"See the venue of the investigation."

She scanned the document again and this time caught it. And she glowed bright red. "Sir... I... am... uh..."

"Colonel, I am aware that we have many sea vessels in our Navy. But I am not familiar with the one called the USS Patrick Horny."

* * *

**END**

For now? Or forever? Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed it, and I wouldn't mind hearing if you did.


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